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["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

Well, we made it.  We're drowning in a sea of unpacked boxes but, hey, that
is silly old indoor stuff that can wait until winter when it gets cold and
snowy.

We've already cleared around the house and fixed the fences around the house
so the dogs don't go wandering.  We rescued several young fruit trees and
found some buried Marion and raspberries that we didn't even know were here.
The strawberries are dead.  The charming woman we bought the place from tore
out all the drip lines and shut off the pump even though we had transferred
the power into our name.  We've cut all the tall grass around the house and
yard and the kidlet racked up another area and that is mulching the berries.
The fruit trees are next.

Our tomatoes survived the move.  So did the herbs.  All the trees survived
and only one rose  looks bedraggled but it is coming back.

There are too many trees too close to the house and way too much scrub and
manzanita.  This is fire country (there have been four of which 2 have been
listed as disasters, in the last two weeks) and so we are getting a THP for
the trees and will be clearning out the scrub and manzanita that are within
100 feet of the house.

There are two areas that are about ankle deep in horse manure (the last two
folks kept horses) and those are looking like ideal candidates for next
years gardens.

We've already scoped out the local businesses and when we went to the
lumberyard to pick up some stuff we needed for some minor repairs they gave
it to us as a housewarming gift.  Kinda neat.  AND, the guy that was working
said to bring the owner a list of the fencing and products we'd be needing
and he'd be real competitive with a bid.  It might be a little higher than
traveling into the city (an hour and 40 minutes away) but should save us
when you figure in time and gas.  He also said (I was wearing my Raiders
t-shirt) that if I wear the t-shirt his boss would probably give a discount
<g>  Hey, maybe I'll "bribe" him with a gift of one of my Xmas cards from
the team when they were in Oakland!

Well, the fair is this weekend and I figure that will be a good time to find
out who has livestock around and what there is.  Oh, and there is a farmers
market every Friday and a peddler's fair in the next town up the highway.

Lynda, off to unpack a couple of more boxes.  I know I had a soil testing
kit here somewhere!